Tag: family
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Nurturing Connections Through Baking: A Pumpkin Bread Recipe
The post reflects on the deep emotional connections formed through shared rituals The author reminisces and discusses how comfort rituals can provide hope during challenging times. Through baking, they find solace and the power to foster connections.
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Encountering Strangers and “The Interruption: A Short Story”
I never know what will come from sitting down with a friend, let alone from encountering a stranger. People invariably surprise me. Any given moment may turn out to be a fight or a dance, an inconvenience or a gift. Some moments may be all of the above, and how I think through that complexity…
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Join Me in Celebrating Publication Day
Kohelette: A Novel came out this past Wednesday. I’m beyond thrilled! Advance readers may have had the novel for a while already, but I’ve still relished sending it out into the world more broadly, first with a recent excerpt appearing in The Polk Street Review 2026 and now with this past week’s publication. There may…
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What We Are To Each Other Sticks: On Kohelette and the Power of Memories
What we are to each other doesn’t go away. Our people don’t go away. And that changes everything.
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On Truth in Fiction and “Wicherek Way: A Short Story”
“For better or for worse, she’d never given any hint of discomfort when her dreams had to face reality.” – from “Wicherek Way,” a short story from the world of the forthcoming novel Kohelette I wouldn’t say my fiction is autobiographical, but I do find myself drawing on bits of real-life experience to ground my…
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Holiday Baking: A Gingerbread Legacy
I know there’s more to the holidays than baking, but baking is simply one of those things my family does this time of year. It’s a ritual, a practice, an experience playing out over time that builds layers of memory and meaning. Even if I weren’t baking for holiday gatherings or for gifts, I’d still…
About the author
Callie J. Smith writes about women who, like her, are finding themselves. Her essays and cozy fiction (contemporary and fantasy) explore everyday things like hope, creativity, and grief.
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